a visit. Go change clothes, and I’ll have the car ready.”
“All right, Erik.” She spoke lightly enough but inwardly was frightened, as she always was when she fell under theeyes of the Raeders. Still, she had promised to go with him, and now she had no choice.
Gabby spent two days at the Raeder mansion just outside of Berlin, and she was glad when the visit was over. Erik’s parents had not said anything specifically that made her feel uncomfortable, but the very correctness with which they treated her spoke of their disapproval louder than words. She said her good-byes, and Baron Raeder said stiffly, “You must come again.” His words were polite, but they were spoken with such formality that she felt as if he were shutting a door. His wife simply said good-bye and didn’t even pretend to extend another invitation.
As Erik drove her home, they avoided the subject of his parents. They talked instead of the fun they’d had skiing and of other mountains where he had skied. When he pulled up in front of her aunt and uncle’s house, he shut the engine off and turned to face her. “So now you go back to work.”
“Yes, I have to make a living.”
Erik reached over and took her hand. He held it for a time quietly, then looked up and said, “What is that necklace you wear all the time?”
“I got it many years ago from an old gypsy woman.”
“She sold it to you?” He was surprised. The German Party considered gypsies “undesirables.” He frowned as he asked, “Who was she?”
“Just an old woman. She didn’t sell it to me—she gave it to me.” Gabby hesitated. “She was very strange, Erik. She told me I was going to have a difficult time, and she was right, because my parents died almost immediately after that.”
“She told your fortune?” he asked, disbelief in his voice.
“No, I don’t believe in that. She was actually very close to God, and I believe she was telling me the truth. She gave me this necklace and told me she would be praying for me.”
“So she was a Christian?”
“Yes, she was.” She hesitated and then added, “I met her again after I came to Holland. Just a chance encounter. Iwent out to visit her, and she said she had been praying for me for years. She died shortly after that.”
He released her hand and picked up the coin that hung from the golden chain around her neck. “It’s a beautiful old piece. Do you know what it means?”
“I have no idea.” She suddenly looked up and saw the moon high in the sky. “That’s a gypsy moon.”
He turned to look. “It’s very beautiful. Why do you call it a gypsy moon?”
“The leader of the gypsies told me that a full moon is a gypsy moon. He said gypsy men and women always fall in love when there’s a full moon.”
“Well, that’s foolish! What if they’re in love and the moon isn’t full?” He laughed and reached over to pull her close, then kissed her cheek. “There’s something about you I don’t understand. There’s a resistance. I feel it when I kiss you. You give yourself to me for a moment, and then you hold back. Why is that?”
“I don’t know, Erik.”
“I think you do. Have you had an unfortunate love affair? Are you afraid of men?”
Suddenly, Gabby realized there was some truth in his question. “I . . . never had a love affair. Not a real one, but I came very close to being in love with a man once. We were engaged, actually. I thought I loved him, but I was wrong. He wasn’t the man for me. I suppose I’m afraid of making a mistake, and no one can afford that.”
Erik shook his head. “We make mistakes all the time, Gabby. The only people who make no mistakes are those who live in a cave and won’t come out—people who are afraid to take a risk for something they truly want.” He used his finger to tilt her chin toward him and kissed her with passion.
As she responded to his affection, she knew that the heart of this man had a wildness in it, which almost seemed to consume
“All right, Erik.” She spoke lightly enough but inwardly was frightened, as she always was when she fell under theeyes of the Raeders. Still, she had promised to go with him, and now she had no choice.
Gabby spent two days at the Raeder mansion just outside of Berlin, and she was glad when the visit was over. Erik’s parents had not said anything specifically that made her feel uncomfortable, but the very correctness with which they treated her spoke of their disapproval louder than words. She said her good-byes, and Baron Raeder said stiffly, “You must come again.” His words were polite, but they were spoken with such formality that she felt as if he were shutting a door. His wife simply said good-bye and didn’t even pretend to extend another invitation.
As Erik drove her home, they avoided the subject of his parents. They talked instead of the fun they’d had skiing and of other mountains where he had skied. When he pulled up in front of her aunt and uncle’s house, he shut the engine off and turned to face her. “So now you go back to work.”
“Yes, I have to make a living.”
Erik reached over and took her hand. He held it for a time quietly, then looked up and said, “What is that necklace you wear all the time?”
“I got it many years ago from an old gypsy woman.”
“She sold it to you?” He was surprised. The German Party considered gypsies “undesirables.” He frowned as he asked, “Who was she?”
“Just an old woman. She didn’t sell it to me—she gave it to me.” Gabby hesitated. “She was very strange, Erik. She told me I was going to have a difficult time, and she was right, because my parents died almost immediately after that.”
“She told your fortune?” he asked, disbelief in his voice.
“No, I don’t believe in that. She was actually very close to God, and I believe she was telling me the truth. She gave me this necklace and told me she would be praying for me.”
“So she was a Christian?”
“Yes, she was.” She hesitated and then added, “I met her again after I came to Holland. Just a chance encounter. Iwent out to visit her, and she said she had been praying for me for years. She died shortly after that.”
He released her hand and picked up the coin that hung from the golden chain around her neck. “It’s a beautiful old piece. Do you know what it means?”
“I have no idea.” She suddenly looked up and saw the moon high in the sky. “That’s a gypsy moon.”
He turned to look. “It’s very beautiful. Why do you call it a gypsy moon?”
“The leader of the gypsies told me that a full moon is a gypsy moon. He said gypsy men and women always fall in love when there’s a full moon.”
“Well, that’s foolish! What if they’re in love and the moon isn’t full?” He laughed and reached over to pull her close, then kissed her cheek. “There’s something about you I don’t understand. There’s a resistance. I feel it when I kiss you. You give yourself to me for a moment, and then you hold back. Why is that?”
“I don’t know, Erik.”
“I think you do. Have you had an unfortunate love affair? Are you afraid of men?”
Suddenly, Gabby realized there was some truth in his question. “I . . . never had a love affair. Not a real one, but I came very close to being in love with a man once. We were engaged, actually. I thought I loved him, but I was wrong. He wasn’t the man for me. I suppose I’m afraid of making a mistake, and no one can afford that.”
Erik shook his head. “We make mistakes all the time, Gabby. The only people who make no mistakes are those who live in a cave and won’t come out—people who are afraid to take a risk for something they truly want.” He used his finger to tilt her chin toward him and kissed her with passion.
As she responded to his affection, she knew that the heart of this man had a wildness in it, which almost seemed to consume
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